NCJ Number
198298
Date Published
May 2002
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This study examined recent trends in recorded crime in Cabramatta, New South Wales (Australia), along with the formal charging of alleged offenders and the application of search and "move-on" powers by police.
Abstract
This report summarizes the trends in recorded crime over the 24-month period between January 2000 to December 2001 for Cabramatta. Over these 24 months, trends in recorded crime in Cabramatta for all major violent and property offense categories were either in decline or stable. Of particular note was the 37-percent decline in motor vehicle theft offenses; theft of property from motor vehicles decreased by 25 percent over the same period. Also of significance were the decreases in robbery offenses; unarmed robberies decreased 5 percent, and robberies with a weapon other than a firearm decreased by 7 percent. Consistent with the decline in crime, there was a downward trend in the total number of offenders brought to court for offenses committed in Cabramatta between January 2000 and December 2001. Police have increasingly used formal charges in preference to other approaches, such as court attendance notice, to bring defendants to court. The total number of alleged offenders against whom court action was initiated by police declined over the period, consistent with the decline in recorded crime. Other forms of police activity in Cabramatta have increased, however; since July 2001, there has been a substantial increase in the number of knife searches conducted, as well as in the number of "move-on" directions issued by the police. 3 tables, 5 figures, and 6 notes